What We Know About the Wildfires in Southern California

Multiple fires have stretched the region’s firefighting resources The two largest rank among the most destructive in the history of Los Angeles.

Follow continuing coverage of the wildfires in Southern California.

The wildfires burning in and around Los Angeles have razed neighborhoods, killed at least 29 people and forced desperate evacuations. The two largest rank among the most deadly and destructive blazes in California history.

The sights of thick columns of smoke, eerie orange skies and beloved landmarks in ashes have instilled a new sense of vulnerability in residents, many of whom are used to fires but unaccustomed to so much destruction.

Firefighters have been able to contain the smaller blazes and make steady progress on the two largest, and the latest round of dangerous winds subsided on Tuesday. But it could take weeks before people can return to the hardest-hit areas, according to experts.

Here’s the latest.

Where are the fires burning?

In early January, a series of large and small fires began to form a ring of blazes around Los Angeles.

The largest is the Palisades fire, along the Pacific Coast west of downtown, which as of Tuesday had burned more than 23,400 acres and was 65 percent contained, according to Cal Fire. The fire forced evacuations along Pacific Coast Highway, including in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Santa Monica.

The next largest fire is to the east: the Eaton fire in the San Gabriel Mountains, north of Pasadena. It has burned more than 14,000 acres, destroyed thousands of homes and displaced tens of thousands of people in evacuations. Containment had reached 89 percent by Tuesday.

In the past two weeks, fire crews also contained a number of smaller blazes: the Kenneth fire, which broke out in the West Hills neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley; the Lidia fire, in the Angeles National Forest; the Sunset fire, which ignited in the Hollywood Hills; the Auto fire in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles; the Hurst fire, which started near Sylmar; and the Archer fire, which broke out Friday morning in Granada Hills.

A few more small fires erupted in the San Diego area on Tuesday, but they were contained by the afternoon.

How many homes have been destroyed?

Preliminary estimates of the scale of damage wrought by the Palisades and Eaton fires put each among the five most destructive in California history. The Palisades fire has destroyed more than 6,000 structures, according to Cal Fire, and the Eaton fire has destroyed over 9,000 structures, a category that includes homes, garages and businesses.

The Eaton fire devastated an enclave in Altadena, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, that has long been a magnet for middle-class Black families.

The Palisades fire destroyed local landmarks in some of the most affluent areas of Los Angeles. They include Palisades Charter High School, the alma mater of numerous celebrities and a filming location for many television shows, including “Modern Family.”

The fire also destroyed the ranch house that the entertainer Will Rogers owned until his death in 1935, and the Topanga Ranch Motel, which appeared in a number of films over the decades.

The National Guard and local law enforcement agencies have been enforcing curfews and trying to keep evacuated neighborhoods locked down until residents can safely return.

At least 100 people had been arrested in evacuation zones across all of the fires, officials said. Charges have included looting, identity theft, possession of narcotics and possession of burglary tools, according to officials.

The Los Angeles County district attorney has announced several prosecutions related to the fires, primarily on charges of looting.

How many people have died?

At least 29 people have died in the fires. The Eaton fire has killed at least 17 and the Palisades blaze at least 12, making them two of the deadliest in California’s history.

Details have begun to emerge about those killed. Five of the victims of the Eaton fire lived within blocks of each other in a close-knit neighborhood in Altadena. The dead in the Palisades fire included a hang-glider, a surfer, a space engineer and a former child star from Australia.

Why did so many wildfires break out at about the same time?

Forecasters warned for days before the first fires erupted last week that fire danger would be very high. They cautioned that wind gusts could reach 50 to 80 miles per hour, and even 100 m.p.h. or more in some places in the mountains. And vegetation built up over two consecutive wet winters had turned to tinder after months of drought this year.

The combination of high winds, dry air and ample fuel combined to make a critical fire-weather event likely in Southern California.

Late fall and early winter tend to be when catastrophic fires are most likely to break out in California. Cooler weather coincides with the arrival of Santa Ana winds, the strong, dry gusts that blow southwest from Nevada and Utah into Southern California and are linked to the region’s most devastating fires.

The deadliest and most destructive fire in California’s recent history, which destroyed the town of Paradise in the foothills of the Sierras, broke out in mid-November 2018.

Are the fires expected to keep growing?

Firefighters have made progress containing the blazes since winds first started to ease more than a week ago. But the region remains at high risk for wildfires, and the threat is worsened by the low humidity.

Another round of strong Santa Ana winds swept through the area early this week. They have abated, but could pick up again on Wednesday evening.

The weekend, however, is expected to bring rain — a light but rare shower after several abnormally dry months. That will help dampen the flames, but could also increase the risk of flooding and debris flow.

Jacey Fortin, Claire Moses, Victor Mather, Tim Balk, Judson Jones, Emily Cochrane and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs contributed reporting.

More on the Southern California Wildfires

• Fire Engine Shortage: Wall Street executives have led an aggressive consolidation of the fire engine industry, leading to soaring prices and orders that take years to fulfill. The disruption has had effects well beyond Los Angeles.
• Where Something Went Right: While some Angelenos cast around for someone to blame, a whole cooperative emergency-response system whirred to life.
• The Agony of the List: After a wildfire comes the emotional toll of listing every object inside a destroyed home. California’s top insurance regulator wants insurance carriers to pay full policy limits without requiring victims to itemize every object in their destroyed homes.
• How L.A. Can Protect Itself From Wildfires: Around the world, other communities are experimenting with ideas that Los Angeles could borrow as it rebuilds from disastrous wildfires.